Richard Constantine responds to questions

The Morgan Hill Times gave each city council candidate a slate
of 12 questions. Here are the answers from Richard Constantine.
The Morgan Hill Times gave each city council candidate a slate of 12 questions. Here are the answers from Richard Constantine.

1. What leadership qualities can you bring to the dais if elected?

• The ability to respond in an organized and rational way to crisis.

• The ability to take action, when things are not moving forward.

• The ability to listen to conflicting voices, and come up with viable solutions.

• The ability to think creatively about how to tackle difficult problems.

• The ability to give a rational basis for why actions cannot be taken at a particular time.

The challenges that Morgan Hill faces as a city are greater than they have been in a long time. There will not be easy answers to some of the more pressing problems. I am a very diligent and persistent individual. I will work hard with the community and other leaders to forge a future that is brighter and sounder for the residents of Morgan Hill.

1. What are your top priorities?

• Make sure that property values in Morgan Hill do not decline.

• Make sure that services can continue to be provided, but with greater efficiency.

• Make every effort to keep local business and get new businesses to come to Morgan Hill.

• Make sure that the safety of the residents is maintained.

1. What programs and/or services would you cut or save to balance the budget and how would you pay for them?

The city must do a better job providing existing services. We will have to examine the productivity and effectiveness of all the Departments. We will have to do more with less.

At the same time, Morgan Hill needs to look toward federal grant money that may be available that has not been pursued.

1. Explain your approach to negotiating with employee unions?

Listen. Voice concerns. Engage all sides in the process and do so with an open mind. I believe that when you negotiate in the open with trust you can accomplish much. Politics can never be the motivation to negotiate.

1. Do you support a two-tier retirement system?

No I do not.

1. How do you feel about RDA-financed downtown development plans, including the fate of the vacant Granada Theater building?

I believe that whenever you try to make improvements and changes you are not going to be able to make everyone happy. I believe that even though there is no plan to save the Granada (due to lack of visible means to fund ongoing operations) we should try and hold onto the history of Morgan Hill. I will make sure that RDA makes it their priority to involve our citizens in all upcoming projects.

1. How should the city address planning and developing in other parts of the city, such as the Southeast Quad?

We have to be very thoughtful when it comes to the SEQ. I believe that with almost 700 acres of prime agricultural land we must make every effort to preserve a large portion of it.

The city should evaluate all undeveloped land with an eye toward not just short-term gain, but long-term viability and quality of life for the residents of Morgan Hill.

1. What is the city’s role, if any, in working with the school district?

The quality of our schools is a big factor in maintaining or raising property values of residents of Morgan Hill. Additionally, the city must be concerned about the growth of gangs in our schools. The availability of good teachers and maintaining small class sizes will go a long way in ensuring an adequate supply of well-educated workers. It is important to remember that the school district is Morgan Hill’s largest employer. Maintaining jobs in all sectors will be crucial to the long-term viability of our community.

The availability of after school programs will reduce the mischief that students engage. Making sure that there is an adequate police force available to patrol the schools will reduce not only gang problems but also protect the community from potential sexual predators.

It will be important for the city to stay on top of issues facing all the schools in Morgan Hill. That is why I support the liaison program the city has with the MHUSD and I plan to be very involved.

1. In light of the Cinco de Mayo incident at LOHS, what steps would you take, if any, to improve race relations?

One of the most powerful institutions, public education, has advanced and improved race relations in this country over the last 40 years. Breaking down the social segregation that existed in the classrooms and the work place has gradually extended greater opportunities for all races. But when communication breaks down and tolerance is replaced with distrust, issues can escalate out of control. I think that a series of open discussions needs to take place. When I was in High School I was one of a handful of minority students that were called upon by school administrators to form a committee. The Student Relations Committee (SRC) was formed to give students a forum to not only express themselves, but also to hear from different perspectives. The SRC model is just one way to promote communication and better relations among students.

1. What are your plans, if any, to attract new businesses to Morgan Hill?

Careful study of the community needs must be done and an action plan designed. The action plan needs to improve the economic welfare of the community. Morgan Hill must create a climate of smart growth and success in the business community by business-building programs focused on critical business, civic and social priorities. We must look toward new ways to incentivize companies that want to add additional employees.

An even stronger bond between the City and the Chamber of Commerce would better serve Morgan Hill and the business community. We must all work to promote festivals and events, conferences, and sales meetings, which bring new patrons and money into our businesses. These events attract people to our community, but we must also do so with a keen eye towards the safety of all our residents and visitors.

Growth in Morgan Hill is inevitable as people who work in San Jose are finding housing here more attractive and a better value in tough economic times. This is a great town to live in, and we need to encourage people to be open to change because it’s going to happen. Change can be a good thing. It will be important for the city council to have a vision of what Morgan Hill is going to be in the next several decades. The downturn in the economy and the state’s budget woes has taught us that we must plan in shorter cycles.

1. What prompted you to run?

I am running for Morgan Hill city council because like many people I moved to Morgan Hill because of the great family atmosphere and the strong sense of community. We are in tough times and I want to make sure we continue to progress. 15 years ago we lost our fire department to the budget ax and now we may lose our police department as well. We should never have to choose to place the safety of our community in the hands of an outside agency. What’s next our libraries or our schools? I do not want to become a subdivision of San Jose. This is a tough time to run for political office but I believe that I am well equipped to bring us through the tough times. I will fight to restore city services through fiscal responsibility and smart growth. I want to insure that the community issues and concerns are heard loud and clear by those who can make changes in policy and insure that the faith with the community is never broken.

1. Do you think changes are needed to the city’s speaker policy and council meetings, and if so what changes would you make?

I do not think that there needs to be any changes to the speaker policy. Having attended numerous council meetings myself I believe that the public has adequate opportunity to speak on any and all issues before the council. I believe that the council follows the Brown act.